Nia's Cartoon Analysis
Cartoons are pictures that people create to either entertain a person or to tell a story. Some cartoons show signs of protest that you might have to dig deep and find yourself, or the protest just might be obvious. Interpreting cartoons can be a little tricky at first. but once you understand what the cartoonist is trying to say than it'll become easier. Here is an example of a cartoon analysis that I did over gay marriage. 1. What is the event or issue that inspired the cartoon?' ' The event that is going on is about gay marriage and how it is not accepted. As you can see some people are up for it and some people just don’t understand. Today President Obama is for legalizing gay marriage but it seems as if everyone is against him. This cartoon was made to show how people feel about the topic. It’s about whether they like it or not. 2. Are there any real people or places in the cartoon? List who these people are. If not, what images are portrayed in the cartoon? There are no real people used in this cartoon, other then the different sides. I think that one side represents the Democrats and the other side represents the Republics. The Democrats are okay with it while the Republicans aren’t. The images portrayed are just about the gay community and how they are treated. They can be treated well by people who don’t mind or they can be treated badly by people and get “tomatoes thrown at them.” 3. Identify the specific artistic techniques used in the cartoon (i.e., symbolism, analogy, exaggeration, labeling, and irony). What is the artist trying to show the reader by using these techniques? The artistic techniques used can be symbolism and labeling. The symbolism comes to play with the two different groups. The symbols are a donkey and an elephant. Those must stand for something right? They symbolize the different political parties. The labeling comes to play whenever the artist writes same-sex marriage on the two men. You can already jump to the conclusion that that means they are gay. 4. What is the cartoonist's point of view about the topic portrayed in the cartoon? Give examples to support your interpretation. I think the artist doesn’t know which side to choose. But then again the artist might not be on a side. The artist is showing different points of view throughout the cartoon, but not his. The cartoonist’s point of view can be from the Republicans, Democrats, or from the two men that are gay. There is no telling what the cartoonist’s point of view is. 5. Which unit(s) would this cartoon fit under and why? Explain. Well this would fit under the protest unit because it is protesting about gay marriage obviously. From the gays perspective they protest that gay marriage should be allowed. Marrying the same sex doesn’t have anything to do with how much a person loves one another. From the Democrats perspective they are protesting right along with the gays. They feel as if they should be allowed to marry the one they love no matter if it’s with the same sex. Lastly from the Republicans perspective they are protesting about how gay marriage should not be allowed. They find in unordinary that a female is with a female, or a male is with a male. So this cartoon would fit under the protest unit.